Kayode Fayemi @ TEDxEuston 2012 - A pseudo-dichotomy between activism and politics

Until TEDxEuston 2011, we had never had a serving politician on stage. Politicians by definition always have an agenda and it would be unfair of us to ask them to stick to a single idea during a TEDxEuston talk. However there was something particularly compelling about  Kayode Fayemi's story that we could not ignore. Like many of us, he was previously resident in London. Before the age of blogs and Twitter, he was a prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule in exile. Kayode was  responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile. An account of the process and roles played in the setting up of Radio Kudirat can be found in his "Out Of The Shadows", which was available at the event. From London he eventually returned home and got his hand "dirty" with politics. He showed that it was not enough to be activists from a distance but at some point, one had to engage...and engage he did!. On the day, he appeared without the entourage of praise-singers that we have to come to expect with Nigerian politicians.

Watch his talk at TEDxEuston 2012 HERE...

Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has been the Governor of Ekiti State in Nigeria since October 2010 after winning a three-year challenge against his political opponent in the 2007, alleging electoral rigging. Prior to entering into partisan politics, Kayode Fayemi was Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development, a research and training institution dedicated to the study and promotion of democratic development, peace-building and human security in Africa. Dr Fayemi attended Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti and received degrees in History, Politics and International Relations from the Universities of Lagos and Ife in Nigeria, and a Doctorate in War Studies from King’s College, University of London, England. A prominent leader of the Nigerian opposition to military rule, he was responsible for the founding and management of the opposition radios – Radio Freedom, Radio Democracy International & Radio Kudirat and played a central role in the opposition’s diplomatic engagements in exile. He was the main technical adviser to Nigeria’s Human Rights Violations Investigation Commission (Oputa Panel), which investigated past human rights abuses in Nigeria and also on the Presidential Implementation Committees on Security Sector Reform as well as a member, Africa Policy Advisory Panel of the British Government. Dr Fayemi also serves on the Governing Board of the Open Society Justice Institute. In his book "Out of the Shadows" he chronicles the amazing struggle for democracy in Nigeria